Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

The Noble Eightfold Path is not a path of mere intellectual understanding but a path of practice, of inner transformation.

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

We can learn the art of fierce compassion - redefining strength, deconstructing isolation and renewing a sense of community, practicing letting go of rigid us-vs.-them thinking.

Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope - a slight change, and all patterns alter.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

The practice of Zen mind is beginner's mind. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.

When you look deeply into your anger, you will see that the person you call your enemy is also suffering. As soon as you see that, the capacity for accepting and having compassion for them is there.

The eye with which I see Buddha is the same eye with which Buddha sees me.

The path is not about moving from one place to another. It's about recognizing where we already are.

The practice of patience guards us against losing our presence of mind.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

When both body and mind are at peace, all things appear as they are: perfect, complete, lacking nothing.

Panic, anxiety, and stress are not obstacles to the practice. They are the path to wisdom and compassion.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

Our own life has to be our message.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

The more you understand impermanence, the more you appreciate every moment.

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.

In the gap between thoughts, nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously.

The practice of meditation is not about achieving states of bliss but about seeing things as they really are.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

At the bottom of great doubt lies great awakening. If you doubt fully, you will awaken fully.

Compassion is not just about being kind to others. It's about being kind to ourselves as well.